Is Your Food Stressing You Out?

I'm in a continual state of alert regarding so-called cures for stress, depression and anxiety. I want to be aware of any new breakthroughs that happen and I also want to be equally aware of new solutions that simply offer false hope. Snake oils and magic bullets are offered to sufferers by the dozen, offering plenty of hope but little in terms of a permanent cure.

Snake oils and magic bullets are always associated with forms of quackery. More often than not it will be dietary supplements, potions, mysticism or new age remedies such as ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, crystals, magnets and such like. However, snake oils and magic bullets can be provided by more trusted sources such as the medical community. An antidepressant drug being the main magic bullet that is anything but.

Another far less obvious magic bullet is provided by the ubiquitous food police. In our society, it is very difficult to go through a single day without experiencing interference from these well-meaning but misguided people who bang on and on about diet and how your eating habits are at the root of all of your ailments.

When it comes to excess weight then as we all know, over-eating will have a huge impact on your physical well-being. But can food really have an impact on your mental health and can it cure stress, depression and anxiety?

In short, no! The foods you eat and the fluids you drink CANNOT cause you to become stressed, anxious or depressed and they certainly cannot cure any of them and I'll explain why right now.

The three main foods you are continually advised to restrict or even avoid are saturated fat, refined sugar and salt. And for your weight and your physical well-being, restricting your intake of these foods will provide a huge boost.

But, let's ask a question: Does everybody who eats a poor diet with high levels of fat, sugar and salt enter into stress, depression or anxiety? The answer is a clear and absolute no! And conversely, does it follow that everyone who eats a good diet with low levels of the sinful foods and high levels of fresh fruit and vegetables lean meat, fish and chicken never enter into these illnesses?

Ah, that's an interesting one isn't it? Surely if healthy eating could help conquer these problems then anyone who eats a healthy diet would never experience stress, depression or anxiety. But it is blatantly obvious that such people aren't immune from these problems.

Here's another fact to realize about foods: In modern society, we are very lucky. There is an abundance of fresh food and it's easily and cheaply available. But what about our forefathers? Go back to the pre-war years and you'll see that life for most of them was very hard and food wasn't anywhere near as plentiful as it is today. So did they all suffer from stress, depression and anxiety? Of course not!

Eating a healthy diet will not cure stress depression and anxiety and eating a poor diet won't cause them either. This is because the cause of these problems lies totally beyond the foods that you eat and it should be quite clear to you that if you're going to conquer stress, depression and anxiety then you can only do so by addressing and treating the root cause.

This is the reason why all of the snake oils and magic bullet solutions simply don't work. They address everything else other than the root cause and apart from giving you a brief lift and lighter wallet, they will only provide temporary and illusory comfort.